Traction increasing device for vehicle wheels



Aug. 11, 1959 L. COLIN 2,899,241

' TRACTION INCREASING DEVICE FOR VEHICLE WHEELS Filed Feb, 27, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 lows (b; )A/

. m/VEA/royv L. COLN Aug. 11, 1959 TRACTION INCREASING DEVICE FOR VEHICLE WHEELS Filed Feb. 27', 1957 5 {Sheets-Shet 2 5 I [i ll |||||i|||||l Aug. 11, 1959 1.. COLIN 2,399,241

TRACTION INCREASING DEVICE FOR VEHICLE WHEELS Filed Feb. 27, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 (/70 lows COL/A/ L. COLIN 2,899,241

TRACTION INCREASING DEVICE FOR VEHICLE WHEELS Aug. 11, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 27, 1957 Wm m a QTWH [Q N\\ Wyn T01? [00/5- ('01. M/ 3v L. COLIN TRACTION INCREASING DEVICE FOR VEHICLE WHEELS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed. Feb. 27', 19 57 m/neWTo? Aou/s COL m/ r 2,899,241 C Patenied Aug. .11, 1959 TRACTION imcnnxsnvc DEVICEFOR VEHICLE WHEELS Louis colinyQuiniper, France nppncation'rbmar 'm, 1'957,Serial Nascent: Glaims pi-iority,applicationiFrancerMarchele-wfi whims, cl. ant-47 The invention relates to improvements applied lto =devices-forincreasing =the gripof the wheels of automobile vehicles, more particularly farm tractors, of'1he comprising retractable traction teeth, "whose ransitioning --for service and positioning :for the road iare obta'ined by the-displacements of -a mobile ring-carrying 'ithe joints of said traction teethin relation toia ifixed ring, inside the preceding one.

According to one characteristic i'arrangement Iof Ith'e invention, the two rings areseach maderin :a T-se'c'tion, and are in =cont'act b-y their'sho'e's in which two meripherical grooves are cut, which, by their junction, fiform a :duct in which a mass of grease :is contained, favofiizing 'ithe slipping off" the external ring on cthe internal ."ring.

Ontheother hand, athegroove fof'thezmdbile ring-cominunica'tes, through :small duets, with itheihousings hf rthe joint spin'dles of the traction teeth aprovided in this ring, whereas the :groove 'of 'athe fing nommunicates, zin like manner, with the z-housin'g of=spindles carried :by 'this ring and each passingithroughranzovalizedshdle .ofirthe controlling arm- 0f the :corresponding-trac'tion-Ttooth.

:the traction teeth on the right half *arein the retracted or road position -.(in this view, *only twotraction teeth-have ibee'nishown'with their removable shoe).

FFigure-Zis afront view of-the interior, fixed ring. Figure :3 isa section taken along :the"line.II-I.III or :Eig. 2

V Figure 4 a-partial section on a-a larger scale, taken along the line IV-IV of Fig. 2. 1 Figure S-isa front view'of the=-external,-movable rring. Figure 6 isa section taken along the line =01 =Fig. 5.

, Figure 7 is a partial section .on a larger scale taken :along the'1ine'VH-V-I I:of Fig. .5.

:Figure .8 isapartial section of both rings inposition, one around the other.

Figure 9 is-a perspective view of one oftheconnecting I :devices between the internalring and the wheel.

.Advantageonsly, each "traction 'tooth is zprovided' with '.-a vimmovable shoe supplied with esp'ikes on its v.face rin- Ltended 'to :come into contact with :the ground, said :shoe :heingthinged on the blade ofthe'tractionitootheand carrying tflIliliS opposite .face zai'mesilientlplug inserted between this .shoe -.aindz-said blade, and an abutment at-its-endEfor ifixing its roadposition.

shoe is particularly useful: ontsnow -.or glazedvice, "both when :at work "as well \as wvhen returning ion the road. It may be removed at will.

The control of the movements of the traction teeth "is fiECiBd by means of 2a ;jack;provided withxtwo ,pins, one onethefixed part, the otheron-the movablmpart-thereof, which are engaged into xholes provided, some in .the rfixed ring, the others in -themov-able ring and/or in 'a "certain numberof traction teeth.

011 :the other .hand, "the :fixed ring is attached vto-an A annular cheek carried on the wheel, by means of .devices eachcomprising an.angle bracket fixedon the cheek-and whose wing perpendicular to'the latter is connected, by

bolts passing through a resilient block, tothe shoe of a dhe-movable ring, and disengaged therefrom by the action v The attached drawing show, .by-way ofcexarhple, an embodiment of aggripping, device aecordingto the-invenrfifl ZFignreil is afi -ontwiew oftheunitin.whichdhetratztion teeth on the left half are in'the working position, whereas Figure lOis an elevational view of atraction toothpro- .vided with its:rernovable shoe.

.Figure ll-isa corresponding side view.

Figure 11.2 is apartial-length-wise view of ajack'that can be used for controlling the movements of the movable wing with regard .to thefixed n'ng.

.Figure 13 is a section of a locking device,-on a larger scale, taken .along'the line XIII-XIII of Fig. '1.

Figure 14 is a similar view, showing the same device in theunlocking position.

Figure .15 is a sectionperpendicularto that of Fig. 14 :and in which the movable ring'has been displaced in relation to its position in saidIFig. l4.

v :Inthese drawings, :ldes'ignatesthe internal ring, which slS .fixed, and .2 the external, movable ring. These two rings, made of .cast steel, are each .made in a T-section .and are .oppositelyarranged that their cross portions are in contact and the web 1a of theT of the fixed ring is directed towards the inside, whereas the web 2a of the T of the movable ring is directed towards the outside (Fig. 8). .Each of the shoes isprovided withagroove, re .spectively 1b, 2b, which extend right round .its periphery, and .the .two connected grooves (.see Fig. 8) form an annular duct '3 which is filledwith a mass of grease, *so that ,part of the latter, in penetrating between the two shoes, lfavorizes the slipping of one on the other. Obviously,,lubricators (not shown) enable the grease toIb'e renewed'from time'to time.

.'For the purpose of attaching the internal ring .1 to .the wheel, the'latter 'isiprovided with an annular cheek "4 integral with a cylindrical flange 4a which is itself integral with a central crown 4b which is fixed, by bolts,to the web of said wheel. Angle brackets 6, four in number, .for example, are .fixed on the cheek 4 from point to point,-'bybolts 5. The wing 6a of each of these angle -Ibrackets, which 'is directed. perpendicularly to "the plane of Jthecheek 4, supports a block 7 of rubber or other resilient material. This block 7 and wing 6a are embracedby a U-shaped part '8 (Fig.9) whose web '8afis connected to said wing 6a by bolts 9 and nuts l'tlscrewecl on the latter, bearing on springs 11, said we'b'being on the other hand integral with a bracket 8b placed cross-wisefon "the web 1a or thenof the' fiXed'ring and boltedtothe latter.

Thus; the'fixed ring is resilientlyconnected"to 'the wheel, in the radial direction, which .rlamps :relative movements, :in'rthis adirectien, of the'igrippingsystem iii-relation to 'the wheel.

Each 10f :thevtraction teeth comprises a blade 1-2 inttegral with a bracket-12a, both madeof cast steel. The bracket 1 2a straddles the-tworings 1 and 2 and thus opposesaany relative movement \Qf these rings in the axial direction. The two flanges or this bracket are drilled with a round hole 13 which is traversed by the pivot spindle 13a of the traction'too'th onthemovahle ring'z,

and the part situated beyond this pivot and forming the tion with the fixed ring, whose reaction imparts an angular movement to the traction tooth when the spindle 13a is displaced. The spindles 13a and 14a respectively pass through holes 15 and 16 (see Figs. 5 and 2) drilled in strengthening bosses 15a and 16a of thernovable ring and the fixed ring, which holes communicate by small ducts, respectively 2c and (Figs. 7 and 4), with the grooves 2a and 1a and thus with the duct 3 holding the grease.

The blade 12 of each traction tooth (see Figs. 10 and 11) carries an element 12b of a hinge whose other elements are carried by a shoe 17 which may be removably mounted on the blade 12 by means of a spindle 12c retained, for example, by pins. This shoe is provided, on its surface that comes into contact with the ground,

with spikes 17a of special steel and of a suitable number. On its opposite face it carries a resilient plug 18 which is retained by lugs 17b, a tube 19 and a bolt, said plug being inserted between the shoe 17 and the blade bottom right) .bears on the adjacent traction tooth and gives the shoe 17 a position in which it is parallel with a tangent to the tyre drawn perpendicularly to a radius passing through the axis 12c.

The shoes 17 are particularly useful in the event of snow or glazed ice existing, both for work .as well as returning on the road. They can be easily removed at will, by removing the spindle 120.

It will easily be understood that when the movable ring 2 moves counterclockwise in relation to the fixed ring, together with the spindles 13a, the reaction of the spindles 14a causes the traction teeth to open, which assume the position shown in the left half of. Fig. .l, from which a rotation of the movable ring in the opposite direction causes them to retract into the road position shown on the right-hand half of Fig. 1, each movement being terminated when the spindles 14a are at the end of the ovalized holes 14 of the traction teetharrns.

For effecting these relative displacements of the movable ring, the invention provides for the use of a jack C (Fig. 12) of any kind, specially fitted, for this purpose, with two parallel pins, the one, 21, on the movable head t of the jack, the other, 22, at the end of the fixed body c of the jack, these two pins being intended to co-operate with holes provided, some on the fixed ring, the others on the movable ring and/or on a certain number of traction teeth.

Presuming that the jack is, for example, of the doubleacting variety, of such type that it can produce the same force in both of the displacement directions of its movable head, it will only be necessary, for eachof the holes made in the fixed ring, to provide a hole in the movable ring, and eventually in an adjacent special traction tooth.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, it is presumed that the jack used can only exert force in the advance direction of the movable head, or in other words in the direction where the two pins 21, 22 move apart from each other, in which case two holes are required in the movable ring for each hole in the fixed ring.

The fixed ring has several holes 23 (in the drawings only one is shown) each drilled in a strengthening boss '24, and for each of these holes the movable ring has two 4 cial traction tooth can be provided'whose blade 12 comprises a lug 27 with a hole 28 drilled in it.

The traction teeth being in the road position (righthand half of Fig. 1), to bring them into the working position, it is only necessary, after having adjusted the width between the pins 21 and 22, to insert the pin 22 into the hole 23 and the pin 21 into the hole 25a and to operate the jack in the direction of the relative separation of these pins, the hole 25a being displaced until it reaches the position 25a.

It would also be possible to use the hole 23, on the one hand, and the hole 28 of the special traction tooth, on the other hand.

To bring the traction teeth from the working position (left-hand half of Fig. 1) back to the road position (right-hand half of Fig. 1), the pin 22 is engaged into the hole 23 and the pin 21 into the hole 25b that must be brought, by means of the jack, into the position 25b It is also possibleand this may frequently be necessary-simply to move the tractor forward, the traction teeth being unlocked. The latter will then descend until they tangent the running track, following which, if necessary, the movement may be terminated by using the jack.

The present grip increasing system is completed by means that enable the traction teeth to be locked in either of the two extreme positions, as well as in one or more intermediate positions, if so desired.

For this purpose, two radial and diametrally opposed bolts 29 may be provided, for example, each of them (see Figs. 13 to 15) being housed in a cylindrical boss 30 of the fixed ring 1 and able to penetrate as shown on Fig. 13, under the action of a spring 31, into one of the holes 32 made to the required number in the movable ring 2, which is strengthened in the corresponding area by a rib 33. Unlocking is effected by passing from the position of Fig. 13 to that of Fig. 14, by means of a lever 34, a double cam 35 which, when pressed on the bottom of a part 36 forming the housing of the bolt and spring 31, moves said bolt towards the central axis of the system, by compressing said spring (Fig. 14). Preferably, the

arrangement is such that each bolt 29 is automatically opposite to a hole 32 when the traction teeth are at the end of their stroke, in one or the other of their extreme positions. For the intermediate position or positions, guide marks can be provided on the movable ring.

It goes without saying that the invention is by no means restricted to embodiment described and shown, of which it includes any modifications, within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for increasing the grip of the wheels of tractors and other automotive vehicles, comprising a fixed ring adapted to be secured to the vehicle wheel, a movable ring rotatably mounted on the peripheral surface of said fixed ring, traction teeth pivotally mounted on said movable ring, control means on said fixed ring and engaging said traction teeth to swing said teeth on their pivots upon rotation of said movable ring about said fixed ring, a ground engaging shoe hingedly and detachablymountedon each of said teeth, spikes on the ground-engaging face of said shoe and a resilient plug inserted between said shoe and its respective tooth.

2. A device according to claim 1 comprising an abutment on the end of each shoe and engageable with the adjacent tooth to position said shoe perpendicular to the wheel radius passing through its hinge axis and parallel to a tangent of the tire adjacent said shoe.

, 3. A device for increasing the grip of the wheels of tractors and other automotive vehicles, comprising a fixed ring adapted to be secured to the vehicle wheel, a movable ring rotatably mounted on the peripheral surface of said fixed ring, traction teeth pivotally mounted on said movable ring, control means on said fixed ring engaging said traction teethto swing said teeth on their pivots upon rotation of said movable ring about said fixed ring, said rings being each of T-shaped cross section and oppositely arranged with their cross portions in contact, each of said rings being formed with a peripheral groove on its surface engaging the other of said rings, said grooves facing each other and forming a duct adapted to contain a lubricating substance.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said movable ring is formed with housings for the pivotal mountings of said traction teeth, each of said housings being connected by a channel to said groove of said movable ring, and said fixed ring is formed with other housings for said control means, each of said other housings being connected by a channel to said groove of said fixed ring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hill July 21, 1931 Chaffin Sept. 16, 1941 Colin May 12, 1953 Colin NOW. 5, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS France June 19, 1945 France June 30, 1955 (First addition of 1,042,787) 

